Mayport ferry snags federal grant to keep running

Bob.Mack@jacksonville.com-- 1/12/14 -- The ferry Jean Ribault returns from the Ft. George side after the ceremonial trip at Noon nearing the Mayport ferry slip. After undergoing Coast Guard-mandated routine maintenance and inspection since December, the St. Johns River Ferry Jean Ribault officially resumed regular operating hours on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2013. Passage on the ferry all day Sunday was free of charge. A formal welcoming ceremony kicked-off the all-day Welcome Back Ferry event. (The Florida Times-Union, Bob Mack)

The St. Johns River Ferry will have an extra $900,000 in federal grant money to keep running through 2015, ferry commission Chairman John Crescimbeni said Wednesday.

“Fortunately, this funding can be used for operational expenses and will provide the ferry budget with a much needed cushion,” said Crescimbeni, a Jacksonville councilman.

The Federal Highway Administration approved the grant through a program designed to help transportation systems around federal land. The ferry’s route is wedged between Mayport Naval Station and the National Park Service’s Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.

In a written statement, Mayor Alvin Brown called the grant “a testament to the valuable role of the ferry in Jacksonville.”

The ferry's 2014 budget is about $1.8 million, which included $450,000 in city money to cover a shortfall in revenues. The grant is divided over the current budget year and next year and would equal the city's support for the river crossing.

Legislation authorizing an agreement this year with the Florida Department of Transportation, which would handle the grant on behalf of the federal government, was filed with the City Council Tuesday.

The grant is the first money the commission has collected from a decision last year to seek outside funding more vigorously. The commission agreed last year to pay a consulting company, Langton Associates, $15,000 for grant-writing.

“A $900,000 return on a $15,000 investment is, I think, a pretty good return,” Crescimbeni said.